OT: CreanWatch-IU takes NIT road game despite higher seed
Indiana, despite being seeded third in their bracket, will be playing at Georgia Tech this week. Gregg Doyel explicitly says its because they wanted to avoid empty seats at Assembly Hall.
For the life of me, I can't understand why they accepted the bid, unless they know Crean is coming back. If he's not, I can't imagine letting Crean and the team twist in the wind for another week or two or three. And I'd have to think they have to have gotten some indication from TC that he'll be back and not take a lateral move to NC State or Mizzou.
I would think the kids would rather play in the NIT than not play at all... As far as Crean's status, if it's bad enough where fans have so little faith int he team that you're choosing to be the road team, then the writings on the wall.
Home again in Indiana
As I wrote in our WBB post, for a blue-blood program, I don't see the value of going to the NIT. It is a long season and I doubt that the players are that excited about another road game to possibly end up proving they are the #69 team in the nation. Just more "junk sports" to fill the endless cable TV programming slots.
its IU's spring break. Maybe it is not Georgia Tech's spring break. My only guess.
GT's spring break is in fact next week. Also, Pastner is buying all of the student tickets for the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfI8BZYgLvY
its IU's spring break. Maybe it is not Georgia Tech's spring break. My only guess.
The real question is who wrecked the program?
Eminem?
Fan tells Tom Crean he ruined Indiana's program after tonight's game pic.twitter.com/pTVcQt1eCg
— BarstoolIU (@IUBarstool) March 11, 2017
And then Crean tries to get the fan thrown out.
What's with this new phenomenon of coaches (Crean, Pitino) deciding that they can get fans thrown out who say things they don't like?
It's a sporting event in a public arena, not eight grade math class. Other than blatant slurs, there is no decorum requirement.
Can coaches not do that? It's a privately owned arena, and I'm 90% sure they can throw you out for whatever reason they want. Whether or not the Verizon Center security would comply, I don't know. But they certainly can if they want.
An employee of the facility? If he's not, then he has no right to throw out someone who has purchased tickets from that venue.
So, I'm looking at the back of my Verizon Center ticket right now.
Holy cow, there are like 5 paragraphs of rules and restrictions. I may be the first person in human history to ever actually read them.
All kinds of stuff about liability, copyrights, and security. Nothing about being nice to coaches.
Especially idiot ones.
What's wrong with you guys? Not that I'm a fan of Crean or Indiana but I think Indiana has had some damn good teams and players the past couple years. My real problem is with the people who are grown adults that think it's okay for a grown adult like this idiot to talk to another man and hide behind that purchased ticket at said venue. Freedom of speech and allowing people to have their own personal opinions is fine and I'm guilty of talking shit myself on this blog but to say that face to face to Crean is just pathetic. That pussy knows he is in a position of safety. You are all pathetic dipshits if you think this behavior is okay from a grown man. Grow up and show some respect. You'd never see me at a game telling Coach B. that he should've been fired right to his face. No, I was raised right.
Still, high-level troll job by that fan. Approved.
"Why you all look like soccer moms at 19" is still hilarious.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
What's the story with that one?
March 13th, 2017 at 10:25 PM ^
and Rosenberg is kind of annoying whenever I catch him on local New York radio, but this definitely cracked me up when it came out and... it's a classic bit of Maryland trolling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYOgC2Qbqh4
March 14th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
Pretty good. And then they threw that all away to be a middle of the pack basketball team and bottom feeder football team in the Big Ten.
Nobody in the Big ten cares enough to really even hate them. At least Duke found them irritating now and then.
the change was a dubious idea to begin with, but it came in the midst of two problematic hires.
Edsall was a disaster and as much as Turgeon has shown a willingness to play ball with the DC metro area player brokers - and he also seems like a really nice guy - that guy has some serious trouble with the paper bag as a coach. Some of it is lineup and roster construction (high level talents, wrong mix) but I've been going on *years* building my theory that dude can't coach.
i did it. and as you can see, i did a very good job of it if i do say so myself.
EDIT: thanks drupal for dropping this down about 8 posts.
to Atlanta is more fun?
Play GT at home and end the season vs. Play GT in Atlanta and end the season. Yep, taking the free trip to Atlanta since it all ends with the season being over anyway.
I would think attendance would naturally fall off a bit.
Teams usually accept NIT bids. We did every time we missed the NCAAs under Amaker. From Crean's perspective, it's a chance to finish the season on a positive note and boost his case for keeping his job.
In Amaker's next-to-last season (2005-06), we collapsed down the stretch and missed the tourney, which was a monster disappointment. But we regrouped to make it to the championship game of the NIT, and that just might have bought him one more season. Crean's probably hoping for something similar.
We turned out pretty well for those games and played with some pride despite a dissapointing season. We deserved to make it to MSG.
Fan mentality about a program has a lot to do with this. Michigan responded very well to NIT bids early in the Amaker era (I recall the buzz in town regarding the atmospheres at Chrisler before I left Michigan) and the absence of NCAA bids in that time period made it easier to accept. A program on the rise, or that doesn't see a lot of success, or that has some exciting personnel can get a lot of mileage out of the NIT.
A program that is accustomed to larger success, that has serious doubts about its coaches, that is discouraged, will not respond well. IU fans appear to be done with Crean. Their team has a fair amount of talent and has been getting slaughtered on the floor. What's to be excited about?
It is not dissimilar to the mentality of Michigan fans at the end of the Hoke era. Remember that 100,000 strong crowd for the Maryland game in 2014? That was a game for which most of the tickets had already been sold. How do you think IU would do with no season tickets sold right now?
We had decent turnouts because being the #1 seed in the NIT was the ceiling under Amaker.
Dion Harris' buzzer beater against Notre Dame had a great turnout but it might have helped more that Notre Dame was the opponent. And...you know...fuck those guys...
I have to admit, some of those NIT games were pretty good. Very enjoyable
I wish that same kind of enjoyment for Indiana every year.
How does losing one more game help the season end on a positive note?
I don't think you go into the NIT expecting to lose.
I mean...
I'm for accepting NIT bids, CBI bids, any tournament that will have us, any opportunity to watch Michigan play more, and any way to shorten the seemingly interminable sporting wasteland between college basketball and college football that is baseball.
I would like that article a lot more if it were written by someone other than Gregg Doyel.
Indiana to Mizzou a lateral move.....says a lot about Crean.
Fred Glass, the IU AD, had this to say:
“Assembly Hall is iconic,” said Glass. “You’ve gotta be careful not to devalue it.”
Hahaha so out of touch with reality. Glass had no problem scheduling home games against Houston Baptist, Southeast Missouri, and Mississippi Valley State at Assembly. Bitter
Glass was half full ... of shit.
I honestly had no idea what their seats looked like until I watched our WBB game there. This would be embarrassing for the program. Doesn't forgive his tasty bitter tears.
Harbaugh will fly down to GA to cheer on his brother in law, support his family and a fellow B1G coach in his time of trouble, just like Bo & Bobby...
AS HE STEALS UR CROOTZ!
"AAWWWW, PAWLLL! THAT SUMBITCH GON GIT US AGAIN!"
He done.